Citizens takes $119 million hit

Citizens Property Insurance, the state-run insurer, has written down
$119.5 in million mortgage-backed securities that were part of a state
investment pool. Last week, its legal staff told its board of governors
that the insurer had gotten inquiries from the Securities and Exchange
Commission on the sale of auction-rate securities earlier this year.
The notes were repurchased in June when there were no buyers for
auction-rate notes. The state’s Office of Financial Regulation
confirmed that it has an open investigation of the insurance company. But a
spokeswoman wouldn’t say why the insurer was being investigated or when
the investigation started.